"False Claims Attacks on Infrastructure Focus of NSF-Funded Research"
False claims and disinformation in a society highly influenced by social media have become significant problems with potentially severe consequences. Researchers at the University of Oklahoma and collaborating institutions have received funding from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program to study false claim attacks. Kash Barker, Ph.D., is the Principal Investigator (PI) leading a team of researchers exploring indirect attacks against infrastructure systems via unsuspecting users. In recent years, the number of false claims has increased, and studies suggest that most online users are initially tricked by fake news, as noted by Barker. When these incidents are weaponized by an adversary against US infrastructure networks, a damaging problem may occur. Disinformation can be used as a weapon to disrupt cyber-physical systems, human lives, and economic productivity. In these scenarios, chaos is caused not by systems or devices, but by "hacked" people. Imagine an adversary spreading information claiming that an electric company is offering free power during the hottest hours of the day, luring customers to use as much power as they want. This could exceed the grid's capacity and cause issues. Researchers will analyze the information and physical layers to combat these weaponized false claims. Both layers are intrinsically connected but are also individually vulnerable to attacks. This article continues to discuss the study on socio-technical approaches for securing cyber-physical systems from false claim attacks.